GEOGRAPHY 



OF 



MISSOURI 



WITH AN 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE STATE 



AKRANGED FOR SUPPT.FMENTARY PEAOfNG PURPOSES 



J. M, GK '■■■■-\''-)0:>, A. M., 

SWBRINTENDENT OF P --, K.ir>',A.~. ClTk', MISSOURI 



F 



E. H. BUTLER AND COMPANY 

PHILADJ.l.PHIA 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 






Shelf 



.VX 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



['^ 



GEOGRAPHY 



OF 



MISSOURI 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE STATE 



ARRANGED FOR SUPPLE^IENTARY READING PURPOSES 



BY 

J. M. GREENWOOD, A.M., 

SUPERINTENbENT OF PuBLIC ScHOOLS, KANSAS CiTY, MISSOURI 




*4SH!HGT0W- -' 



/ 



E. H. BUTLER AND COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 

PHILADELPHIA 



PREFACE. 



During the preparation of the manuscript for the 
Missouri Supplement of Butlers Geography, it oc- 
curred to the author that some additions would make 
it a useful hand-book for the people of the state, par- 
ticularly teachers and those interested in the Plistor)^ 
and Geography of Missouri, and that such a manual 
could be very appropriately used by Fourth and Fifth 
Reader pupils as a Supplementary Reading Book. 
After consultation with several leading teachers of the 
state in regard to the matter, he was assured that the 
plan was an excellent one, since there had not been 
published any similar treatise that is easily accessible 
to all classes of readers. 

With the hope that this small contribution will 
awaken a deeper interest in the History of Missouri, 
it is submitted to the public. 

J. M. GREENWOOD. 

Kansas City, Mo., May, 1890. 



Copyright, 1890, by E. H. Butler & Co. 



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MISSOURI 



[ The notes to referettces in text will be found at the end.'\ 

1. Position and Extent. — Missouri, the eleventh state 
to unite her destiny to that of the "original thirteen " in the 
formation of our great Republic, possesses the natural advan- 
tage of occupying a central position in the Valley of the Mis- 
sissippi. Lying between the parallels of 36° and 40° 30' north 
latitude, and between the meridians of 89° 2' and 95° 51' west 
longitude, it has a length oi 280 miles from north to south, 
and varies in breadth from 208 miles in the north, till it grad- 
ually attains its greatest width of 312 miles in the south. 

2. In size, Missouri surpasses thirty of her sister states, rank- 
ing twelfth in point of area. Included within her confines are 
6^735 square miles of land and 680 square miles of water, the 
land surface comprising about 44,000,000 acres. This vast ex- 
tent of country is bounded by Iowa on the north ; by Illinois, 
Kentucky, and Tennessee on the east ; by Arkansas on the 
south ; and by the Indian Territory, Kansas, and Nebraska on 
the west. 

3. Surface. — To the mind appreciative of nature's charms, 
Missouri appeals with every diversity of surface. Level valleys, 
rolling prairies, graceful knolls, and terraced hillsides ; bold and 
precipitous bluffs ; isolated peaks ; ridges, sterile and rocky in 
one locality, arable and timber-clad in another; vine-tangled 
forests, and grassy and flower-strewn uplands, alternate with 
one another in rapid sequence and pleasing effect. 

4. Taking the Missouri River as the dividing-line between 

3 



4 MISSOURI. 

the two sections of the state essentially different in physical 
contour, we find the part north of the river to be generally 
level or slightly undulating, and sloping gradually upward 
toward the river-bluffs, which nowhere attain an elevation of 
more than 330 feet above the surrounding country. There is, 
however, in this section a height of l"and called the " Grand 
Divide," the water-shed separating the waters flowing into the 
Mississippi from those that empty into the Missouri River. 
The predominance of prairie in this part of Missouri renders 
it pre-eminently the grass-growing region of the state. 

5. That portion of the state lying south of the Missouri River 
derives its distinctive physical features from the Ozark Moun- 
tains, which extend ^ver one-half of its surface. These mountains 
in the greater part of their course through the state might be 
properly characterized as a succession of"high table-lands, reach- 
ing their greatest altitude of 1500 feet in Greene and Webster 
Counties. Farther east, however, they assume more of the 
mountainous nature, breaking up into narrow ridges, detached 
conical peaks, and abrupt declivities, and eventually losing them- 
selves in the low regions toward the swamp-lands which owe 
their formation to the great earthquake of 1811-13, and which 
are not more than 275 feet above the sea-level. North of the 
Ozark range, in Cass and Johnson Counties, lies an important 
spur of these mountains, notable as the divide betv/een the 
waters of the Osage and those of the Missouri. 

6. Valleys. — In point of size and richness, the broad alluvial 
plains on either side of the Missouri stand avowedly unsurpassed 
by any other agricultural section of the United States ; while 
those of the Mississippi are scarcely less fertile. Supplementing 
these two great valleys, we find in the north the Grand River 
valley, and contiguous to it the valley of the Chariton. In the 
south, the valleys, equally productive, are even more beautiful, 
intersecting, as they do, the mountainous regions, and being in 
many cases flanked by rugged hills and overhanging bluffs. 

7. Drainage. — The eastern limit, throughout its entire ex- 
tent, is washed by the waters of the Mississippi River, thus 



MISSOURI. 5 

giving to the state a water-front of 560 miles; while the Mis- 
souri River, following the western border from the extreme 
northwest to Kansas City, sweeps thence across the heart of 
the state, numbering in its tortuous course many hundreds of 
miles of navigable waters, which unite with those of the. Mis- 
sissippi at a point just above St. Louis. 

8. Many noble tributaries to these two majestic rivers are 
distributed throughout the state, the principal branches of the 
Mississippi being the Fabius, Salt, Cuivre, Meramec, St. Francis, 
Current, and Black ; while those of the Missouri are the Nod- 
away, Platte, Grand, and Chariton on the north, and the Osage 
and Gasconade on the south. Innumerable minor affluents to 
these streams drain the surface, vying in picturesqueness with 
the countless springs whose crystalline waters sparkle in the 
sunlight of the meadows or bubble in perennial beauty from 
the hill-sides. 

9. Mineral Springs. — Few sections of country excel Missouri 
in the quantity and quality of her medicinal springs. Sweet 
Springs in Saline County, Excelsior Springs in Clay County, and 
Eldorado Springs in Cedar County, justly celebrated as delight- 
ful summer resorts, have likewise attained considerable notoriety 
for the curative properties of their respective waters. Monagaw 
Springs in St. Clair County are sulphur springs, and there are 
numerous other springs of this character to be found in the 
western counties. 

10. Climate. — Climate is the result of geographical posi- 
tion, elevation above the sea-level, and the topographical config- 
uration of a country. Missouri being a portion of the great 
plain which extends eastward from the Rocky Mountains to the 
Mississippi River, its climate, unmodified by high mountain- 
ranges, ocean-currents, or constant winds, presents all the 
extremes of heat and cold, moisture and drought, peculiar to 
this latitude. 

11. The Ozark Mountains in their highest points attain an 
elevation of 1500 feet above the level of the sea; yet this, 
while it exercises some degree of influence locally, has no 



6 MISSOURI. 

direct effect upon the general climate of the state. Owing to 
the rapid evaporation which takes place, the atmosphere is 
rarely loaded with moisture, and the climate may be regarded 
as chiefly a dry one, though the distribution of rain is amply 
sufficient for agricultural prosperity.^ 

12. Soil. — Missouri is pre-eminently an agricultural country, 
with successful cultivation doubly insured by excellence and 
variety of soil. Accepting the popular classification of lands 
into " timber lands " and " prairie lands," with the subdivisions in 
each of " uplands " and " bottom lands," we may indicate the sec- 
tion of Missouri possessed by each by a line drawn diagonally 
across the state from the northeast corner to the extreme south- 
west corner.^ 

13. All that portion west of the line is mainly prairie, not 
entirely devoid of arboreal vegetation, yet stretching for many 
miles in a vast expanse of treeless plains, whose rich soil is 
indicated by the luxuriant growth of grass and herbs. East 
of the line, on the contrary, we find the forest regions of Mis- 
souri, justly celebrated for their magnificence and extent, and 
emulating the prairies in fertility and exuberance of plant-life. 

14. Vegetation. — Missouri is abundantly supplied with the 
best varieties of forest trees indigenous to this climate and lat- 
itude. No language can adequately depict the beauty and mag- 
nificence of these forests in their original grandeur, nor can 
words sufficiently express the regret that should be felt at their 
wanton destruction within the last quarter of a century. In 
many localities, however, extensive groves, still remain intact, 
and in them are to be found every species of wood necessary to 
human comfort and need.^ 

15. The principal forest trees of Missouri are pine, cherry, wal- 
nut, ash, hard and soft maples, birch, lind, cottonwood, poplar, 
sweet-gum, black-gum, yellow-gum, cedar, cypress, sycamore, 
coffee-bean, pecan, chestnut, tulip-tree, beech, willow, hackberry, 
mulberry, tupelo, catalpa, ironwood, hornbeam, box-elder, elm, 
three species of locust, six of hickory, and eighteen of oak."* 

16. Some of this timber, as the walnut, maple, cypress, pop- 



MISSOURI. 7 

lar, birch, and cherry, is exceedingly fine, and susceptible of the 
very highest polish, and is, therefore, much used in ornamental 
and elegant workmanship. Other kinds, as hickory, ash, oak, 
and lind, are desirable on account of their durable and useful 
qualities, and are consequently largely used in the manufacture 
of wagons, carriages, and agricultural implements. From the 
oak, pine, cedar, mulberry, hickory, locust, and elm is also ob- 
tained an excellent quality of lumber extensively used for build- 
ing purposes and fencing ; while many of the larger farms have 
their well-kept fields protected by impenetrable hedges of osage- 
orange, willow, cedar, thorn, and cottonwood. 

17. The cultivated vegetation — cereals, fruits, and vegetables 
— favored by the soil, climate, and seasons, yields such ample 
returns to the labors of the agriculturist as to place Missouri 
among the leading food-producing states. The vine flourishes 
luxuriantly in many localities, and the state is pre-eminently a 
land of orchards. 

18. Minerals. — In the development of her mineral resources 
Missouri is as yet in her infancy ; but sufficient labor and cap- 
ital have been expended in the mining districts to prove the state 
rich beyond estimation in its abundance of coal, iron, lead, zinc, 
and other valuable minerals. The total amount of wealth de- 
rived from the mineral resources of Missouri for the year 1887 
is estimated at over ten million dollars. 

19. Coal. — Missouri contains within her subterranean maga- 
zines bituminous coaP sufficient to supply the world's de- 
mand for a thousand years. Yet only a pittance of this great 
wealth is she called upon to deliver up each year : the only 
mines as yet constantly worked are those lying chiefly along 
the lines of railroad, in Randolph, Ray, Macon, Audrain, Linn, 
Grundy, Caldwell, Adair, Putnam, and Carroll Counties, north 
of the Missouri River, and south in La Fayette, Johnson, Henry, 
Bates, Barton, Vernon, and Cooper Counties. 

20. Iron. — No less important than the coal-fields are the 
deposits of iron throughout the state. With the exception of 
those in Callaway County, all the principal iron-mines lie south 



8 MISSOURI. 

of the Missouri River in a belt extending from the Mississippi 
River on the east to the Osage River on the west, and covering 
an area of not less than 25,000 square miles. The iron-ores 
found are of two kinds — specular and limonite. These ores, 
together with red hematites, are found in many localities, being 
distributed, in fact, over thirty-four counties of Missouri, thus 
rendering- the state one of the richest in the Union in this most 
useful mineral.^ 

21. Lead and Zinc. — The lead-producing regions of Missouri 
may be grouped into three separate districts, — the southeast, the 
middle, and the southwest,^ The annual yield from all these 
districts will average at least 30,000,000 pounds, giving Missouri 
first rank in the United States in the abundance of this mineral, 
and placing her in this respect without a rival in the known 
world.^ Associated with the lead in many districts are immense 
deposits' of zinc, the most important being in Jasper County; 
and large quantities of nickel and cobalt are found in many 
other localities. 

22. Building-stone in unlimited quantities form.s a considerable 
item in the mineral wealth of Missouri. Granite is exposed to 
view over an area of more than 400 square miles in Madison, 
St. Frangois, Iron, Ste. Genevieve, and Wayne Counties, being 
represented in all its diversity of colors from gray to red, and 
unexcelled in puality and beauty of appearance. 

23. Marble, in white, black, drab, bluish-drab, and variegated 
kinds, is extensively quarried in some parts of the state. One 
species of porphyry," found in the granite localities, is thought to 
be of the same quality as the valuable antique variety so highly 
prized. * 

24. Limestone beds cover an area of 25,000 square miles, and 
the stone is excellent, and much used in private buildings and 
in the construction of public works. Large deposits of sand- 
stone available for architectural purposes abound in Johnson, 
Barton, Vernon, Carroll, and other counties, but, being little in 
demand, it is at present not extensively quarried. 

25. Animals. — The domestic animals of Missouri, num.bered 



MISSOURI. 9 

by millions, constitute a large portion of the wealth of the state. 
Of the larger wild animals but (qw remain. Bears and wolves 
are occasionally met with, and in many sections deer are plen- 
tiful. Among the smaller animals are foxes, raccoons, opossums, 
minks, weasels, and otters. Rabbits and squirrels are every- 
where abundant. 

26. Wild turkeys, grouse, woodcock, prairie-chickens, and 
quail are found in great numbers, and water-fowl of various 
kinds frequent the streams. Black bass, buffalo-fish, suckers, 
perch, pike, catfish, and sunfish are the principal varieties of 
native fishes. The most common reptiles are turtles and snakes, 
of which there are several species. 

27. People. — By the United States census of 1880 the pop- 
ulation of Missouri was 2,168,380, an average of 32 to the square 
mile. Of these less than one-tenth were of foreign birth, prin- 
cipally Germans and Scandinavians. The native American pop- 
ulation is mainly descended from immigrants from Kentucky, 
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia, and Missouri in her 
turn has contributed largely to the pioneer settlements of the 
Pacific states. Descendants of the early French settlers are 
still found in some localities near the Mississippi River. 

28. Industries. — Blessed with a fruitful soil and favoring- 
climate, with vast mineral resources, great natural commercial 
advantages, and an active, enterprising population, Missouri 
must of necessity rank high in the leading industries of the 
world. Her agricultural, manufacturing, mining, and commer- 
cial interests — already immense — bid fair in a few years to 
surpass those of many of the older and more thickly-settled 
states. 

29. Agriculture. — Of her forty-four millions of acres, Mis- 
souri withholds from the husbandman not more than a million 
acres of unproductive land. And though not more than one- 
fourth of the tillable area is at present under cultivation, still the 
agricultural products of the state far exceed those of the mines 
in value, and are surpassed in this respect only by the manufac- 
tured products.^ Even in the very heart of the mining districts, 



10 MISSOURI. 

field upon field of waving grain, orchards of luscious fruits, and 
smiling vineyards flourish above the mineral-laden earth, yield- 
ing more profit in a year than has ever yet been gathered in the 
same space of time from the underground treasury. 

30. Of the cereals, corn is the most abundantly produced ; 
and, though the harvest may vary with the season, a total failure 
is unknown. The wheat crop ranks next in importance. In the 
central and southern sections of the state, and along the white- 
oak ridges that adjoin the bluffs of the larger streams, wheat of 
a superior grade is raised, which commands the highest prices in 
the market ; while in the counties near the Iowa line, spring 
wheat is raised, but only to a limited extent. 

31. Oats are grown in all parts of the state sufficient for home 
consumption ; but in the soils of the northern counties that 
cereal attains its fullest development, and the yield is large and 
profitable. The soils of Missouri are well adapted to the growth 
of both native and cultivated grasses ; of the former the most 
nutritious species growing wild upon the prairie is the " upland 
blue stem," and of the cultivated grasses, timothy, clover, and 
blue-grass are the best ; though orchard-grass, red-top, millet, 
Hungarian grass, and English blue-grass are also cultivated, and 
furnish excellent food for horses, cattle, and sheep. 

32. The potato succeeds well in this state, producing the 
abundance requisite for home supplies, with a large amount for 
shipment elsewhere. The sweet potato is also largely cultivated. 
Among the miscellaneous agricultural products which receive 
considerable attention and grow well in this climate are hemp, 
flax, cotton, sorghum, buckwheat, and broom-corn. Peas, beans, 
turnips, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, watermelons,- pumpkins, and 
squashes yield bountiful crops, the value of which each year 
amounts to several millions of dollars. 

33. Orchard Products. — Throughout the greater portion of the 
state the very best varieties of apples are grown, the fruit ma- 
turing well during the long season. The pears, though not so 
large and fine as the varieties imported from the Pacific coast, 
are more delicately flavored. The hilly regions of the south con- 



MISSOURI. 1 1 

stitute the " peach lands " of the state, and on them are pro- 
fusely grown the finest qualities of that delicious fruit. 

34. Next in importance to apple and peach culture must be 
ranked that of the grape. Wine-making is undoubtedly des- 
tined to become one of the most extensive and profitable 
interests in the state. The climate, soil, and seasons all concur 
to render Missouri one of the finest grape-growing regions of 
the world. Cherries and plums seldom fail ; while of the smaller 
fruits, blackberries, gooseberries, strawberries, and currants are 
plentiful enough for all local demands, 

35. Live-Stock. — As a stock-raising country, Missouri ranks 
high. Its generally level surface, its abundance of pure water, 
its proximity to other extensive cattle-ranges, its large, unfail- 
ing crops of corn, grass, and hay, and its climate, a happy mean 
between the extremes of the northern winters and the long, hot, 
southern summers, all combine to exalt this industry to the plane 
of high economic value to the farmers of this state.^'^ 

36. The stock-raising industries are largely on the increase,^ 
the great demand for all kinds of live-stock in the chief markets 
of the state being clearly indicated by the annual receipts and 
shipments at the stock-yards. Immense quantities of dressed 
beef and pork are shipped to all parts of the United States, and 
even to European markets ; and the indications are that at no 
very distant day Missouri will lead the Union in this great 
industry. 

37. Manufactures. — With her abundance of coal and wood 
for fuel, her inexhaustible yield of iron and lead, and her unfail- ^ 
ing supply of lumber, with unsurpassed facilities for navigation, 
and a net-work of railroads penetrating to every important sec- 
tion of the state, Missouri seems destined to become the cen- 
tre of the manufacturing industries of this continent. Even at 
the present day her rank in these industries is eighth in the 
Union. The chief manufacturing centres are St. Louis, Kansas 
City, St. Joseph, Hannibal, Lexington, and Joplin.^^ 

38. Mining. — Although the mining interests of Missouri are 
not fully developed, it is the first state of the Union in the pro- 



12 MISSOURI. 

duction of lead and zinc. The coal mines employ annually 8000 
men and yielded in 1888 nearly three million tons. In the value 
of iron ore mined, Missouri is surpassed by only three or four 
states. 

39. Commerce. — From her geographical position Missouri 
possesses great natural commercial advantages over most inland 
states. The Ohio, the Missouri, and the Upper Mississippi afford 
cheap transportation to remote points, while the Lower Missis- 
sippi is a convenient highway to southern and foreign markets. 

40. Railroads. — The manufacturing industries so rapidly in- 
creasing and expanding in all directions, the important agri- 
cultural and mineral wealth, the amount of live-stock demanding 
shipment, and the thriving local, inter-state, and foreign trade, 
coupled with the enterprising spirit of a commercial, intelligent, 
and progressive people, are some of the reasons which may be 
assigned for the construction of so many lines of railroad within 
the state. 

41. Fully one hundred and ten lines and branch lines have 
been completed, representing at least 6763 miles of road, and 
establishing means of rapid inter-communication between the 
most distant parts of the state, thereby consolidating their inter- 
ests. This was accomplished at an expenditure of two hundred 
millions of dollars, and these roads are owned and controlled 
by thirty-six separate companies or organizations, employing a 
force of thirty thousand men, and representing an annual income 
of $30,000,000.^^ 

42. Government. — Missouri has had three State Constitu- 
tions : the first was adopted in 1820; the second, in 1865; and 
the third, in 1875. Under each Constitution the powers of the 
government were divided into three distinct departments, — the 
Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial. 

43. Legislative Department. — The Legislative Depart-* 
ment is vested in a Senate and a House of Representatives, and is 
called *' The General Assembly of the State of Missouri." This 
assembly is composed of thirty-four senators and one hundred 
and forty-three representatives. A member of the House of 



MISSOURI. 13 

Representatives must be twenty-four years old, a male citizen of 
the United States, two years a voter in Missouri, and a resident 
of the county or district which he represents. A State Senator 
must be thirty years of age, three years a voter in Missouri, and 
possessed of all the other qualifications required for a representa- 
tive. Representatives are elected for two years. Senators for four : 
the apportionment for determining the number of each is made 
after each United States Census. In the Congress of the United 
States, Missouri is represented by two Senators and fourteen 
Representatives. 

44. Executive Department. — This department is com- 
posed of seven officers, — the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, 
the Secretary of State, the State Auditor, the State Treasurer, the 
Attorney-General, and the State Superintendent of Public Schools. 
They are elected by popular vote, and each holds office for four 
years. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor must ea'ch be 
thirty-five years old, seven years a resident of Missouri, and ten 
years a citizen of the United States. The other state officers 
must each be twenty-five years old, and five years a resident of 
the state prior to election. In addition to these executive officers 
of the state, there are the Register of Lands, three Railroad 
Commissioners, and a Commissioner of Labor Statistics. 

45. State Board of Equalization. — The following 
officers constitute the State Board of Equalization to determine 
the valuation of the real and personal property among the sev- 
eral counties of the state : Governor, State Auditor, State Treas- 
urer, Secretary of State, and Attorney-General. 

46. State Board of Education. — The State Superin- 
tendent of Public Schools, the Governor, the Secretary of State, 
and the Attorney-General constitute the State Board of Education. 

47. Judicial Department. — This department is composed 
of the Supreme Court, St. Louis Court of Appeals, Kansas City 
Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts, Criminal Courts, Probate 
Courts, County Courts, and Municipal Corporation Courts. 
Five judges constitute the Supreme Court; three each the 
Courts of Appeal for St. Louis and Kansas City; one judge for 



14 MISSOURI. 

each judicial circuit ; one for each Criminal Court ; County 
Court, three judges; Probate Court, one judge; Justices of the 
Peace, provided for by statute. 

48. Territorial Divisions of the State. — These 
spring primarily from the boundaries of the state, as fixed by 
the general government, which divides its territory into toivnships 
and sections. The state makes another division, that of counties. 
Subdivisions of these are made by individuals or corporations. 
For carrying on the duties of the government, and exercising 
the privileges of citizenship, political divisions are made of the 
territory within the boundary of the state. The divisions are as 
follows: I. School Districts; 2. Municipal Townships; 3. Vil- 
lages ; 4. Towns; 5. Cities;'^ 6. Counties; 7. Representative Dis- 
tricts; 8. Senatorial Districts; 9. Judicial Circuits; 10. Congres- 
sional Districts; ii. Courts of Appeal. 

49. The School District is the lowest and simplest kind of 
municipal corporation, having the fewest officers and the least 
authority. Just above this is the Municipal Township, with its 
justices of the peace and a constable. A Village is defined by 
statute to be an unincorporated town of less than five hundred 
inhabitants. After a village is incorporated, it constitutes a Tozun, 
and a Board of Trustees is elected, usually composed of five mem- 
bers, who appoint an Assessor, a Collector, a Marshal, and a 
Treasurer. The president of the Board is also vested with the 
powers of Justice of the Peace. 

50. State and county officers, and nearly all the municipal 
officers of incorporated villages, towns, and cities, are elected 
by a vote of the people. County officers are elected at the gen- 
eral elections in November every two years ; municipal officers 
and school officers, unless otherwise provided, on the first Tues- 
day in April each year. State and county taxes are levied by the 
judges of the county court; school taxes, by the school direc- 
tors ; town and city taxes, by the Common Council or the 
Municipal Assembly. 

51. Education. — It has always been the policy of Missouri 
to foster the cause of education, by encouraging whatever would 



MISSOURI. 15 

tend to promote the acquisition of knowledge. The State Con- 
stitution says, "A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence 
being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of 
the people, the General Assembly shall establish and maintain 
free public schools for the gratuitous instruction of all persons 
in this state between the ages of six and twenty years." 

52. The present school system of the state is popular and very 
efficient, and embraces five distinct kinds of schools, namely, 
ungraded schools ; graded schools ; high schools ; normal 
schools; and the State University, including the School of Mines. 

53. The ungraded schools are those of the county, each county 
being divided into school districts, and each district being under 
the control of three directors. The graded and high schools are 
those of the villages, cities, and towns, and, except in special 
cases, are under the supervision of six directors, and are gov- 
erned by a separate law granting special privileges. 

54. The normal schools are more liberally provided for in Mis- 
souri than in any other state in the Mississippi Valley. There 
are four State Normal Schools designed for the training of 
teachers : one at Kirksville ; one at Warrensburg ; one at Cape 
Girardeau ; and one, the Lincoln Institute, for colored teachers, 
at Jefferson City. The State University at Columbia stands at 
the head of the state system of public instruction.^^ 

55. In addition to the public institutions, there are in the state 
more than thirty private seminaries, academies, and denomina- 
tional colleges, some of which are of a high order of excellence, 
and among which may be mentioned Washington University, St. 
Louis University, and Christian Brothers' College, all located at 
St. Louis ; Central College, at Fayette ; Drury College, at Spring- 
field ; William Jewell College, at Liberty ; Christian Female Col- 
lege, at Columbia ; Hardin College, at Mexico ; Westminster 
College, at Fulton ; and Christian University, at Canton. 

56. Religion. — The early French and Spanish settlers of 
Missouri were members of the Roman Catholic Church, which 
is now one of the leading denominations in numbers. Most of the 
Protestant Churches are well represented, the Baptists and Meth- 



1 6 MISSOURI. 

odists being the most numerous. There are also many Hebrews 
in the state.^^ 

57. Cities AND Towns. — St. Loms, the metropoHs of Mis- 
souri, and one of the greatest commercial centres of the United 
States, is situated on the right bank of the Mississippi River, about 
1270 miles above New Orleans. The city has a river front- 
age of more than nineteen miles, is beautifully located, regularly 
laid out, and substantially built, being adorned with many hand- 
some public buildings, as well as elegant private residences. It 
is justly noted for its varied and extensive manufactures of cloth- 
ing, harness, wooden ware, machinery, sugar, molasses, tobacco, 
iron, and steel, and is also one of the leading grain and live- 
stock markets in the country. Being most advantageously 
located for "general commerce, it has become the natural dis- 
tributing point, not only for its own manufactures, but also for 
those of the East, to the vast agricultural and mineral region 
surrounding it. The products of this immense section are 
mainly grain, wool, cotton, tobacco, live-stock, iron, lead^ and 
zinc ; and St. Louis is the commercial emporium through which 
they must pass to reach the Eastern markets. 

58. The commercial and manufacturing interests of the city 
to-day are of vast proportions, and the volume of trade trans- 
acted there is constantly on the increase. St. Louis, as a 
great railroad centre, enjoys superior facilities for connection 
with the North, East, South, and West; and radiating from it is 
a vast net-work of railroads leading in all directions. One of the 
most notable features of the city is the great bridge across the 
Mississippi, — a specimen of the very finest structure of engineer- 
ing skill. It is a magnificent steel tubular bridge, connecting St. 
Louis with East St. Louis, and is 6227 feet in length. It con- 
tains a double roadway, one above for foot and passenger travel, 
and the other for railroad-trains, the latter passing as a tunnel 
west under Washington Avenue, and thence south, under Eighth 
Street, to the Union Depot, a distance of about 5000 feet. 

59. The educational facilities are of a high character, the pub- 
lic schools ranking among the foremost in America, and there 



MISSOURI. 17 

are also many excellent private institutions of learning. The 
city is admirably supplied with libraries, two of them, the Pub- 
lic and the Mercantile, being models in all their appointments, 
carefully managed, and containing large and valuable selections 
of general literature. In addition to these two libraries there 
are perhaps a dozen others of less note. 

60. St. Louis has an excellent system of parks, numbering 
eighteen in all, and covering an area of 2095 acres. Much at- 
tention has been given to beautifying these parks, and they are 
tastefully laid out and exquisitely kept. Shaw's Botanical Gar- 
den, regarded as one of the most charming retreats in the city, 
contains specimens of all plants that can be grown in these lati 
tudes, as well as many rare and costly exotics. The church edi- 
fices are among the chief architectural attractions of the city, 
being numerous, and many of them expensive and magnificent. 
The population of St. Louis is 450,000, or about one-sixth of the 
entire population of the state. 

61. Kansas City, located in the extreme northwest corner of 
Jackson County, at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri 
Rivers, is the second city in size in the state. Its growth has 
been phenomenal since 1865, at which time the population was 
less than 4000. In 1 870 the population was 32,268, increasing 
to 55,785 in 1880, and at present numbering at least 160,000. 
Kansas City is situated in one of the finest agricultural, stock- 
raising, and fruit-growing regions in the Mississippi Valley. As 
a grain and live-stock market it is one of the best in the country, 
and in beef- and pork-packing is surpassed only by Chicago. 

62. Railroads enter the city from all directions, and two ele- 
gant railroad bridges span the Missouri at this point. It is 
geographically the natural channel of traffic between the East 
and the West and Southwest, and possesses unsurpassed nat- 
ural advantages conducive to the immense volume of business 
yearly transacted ; and as the resources of the country are more 
fully developed and utilized, the commercial relations will be 
extended and multiplied. The city is noted for the extent and 
excellence of its cable-car system, which is one of the most com- 

2 



1 8 MISSOURI. 

plete in the world. It is a city of churches and of pubHc 
schools, the latter being deservedly popular at home, and highly 
and favorably acknowledged by the best educators in the land. 

63. St. JosepJi, the third city in size, and so named in honor 
of its founder, Joseph Robidoux, is beautifully situated on a 
sloping plain at the bend of the Missouri River, and is the 
county-seat of Buchanan County. A large wholesale and retail 
commercial business is carried on here with the West and North- 
west, railroad connection with all parts of the country affording 
all facilities for easy and rapid transportation. Grain- and stock- 
trading are important interests, and manufacturing is extensively 
carried on. The city has an efficient system of public schools, 
established under a special charter. In 1880 the population of 
the city was 32,431, and it is now estimated at 62,000. 

64. Hannibal, in the southern corner of Marion County, is an 
important railroad terminus and manufacturing city. It is one 
of the best lumber markets on the Mississippi, the lumber from 
the pineries of the north being rafted down the Mississippi in 
vast quantities to Hannibal, and thence shipped west and south 
over the railroads, into Missouri, Kansas, and other states and 
territories. Hannibal has a substantial railroad bridge across the 
Mississippi ; and its public schools are thoroughly organized and 
well conducted. The population in 1880 was 11,074, which has 
increased now to 14,000. 

65. Scdalia, the county-seat of Pettis County, is a beautiful 
inland city, finely situated on rolling prairie, and occupying the 
centre of one of the most fertile regions of the state. It is an 
important railroad centre, two great systems intersecting at 
this point. Large machine-shops and other manufacturing estab- 
lishments are located here, and much trade is carried on with 
the surrounding country. Great attention has been given to 
church and school facilities, and the citizens feel a commendable 
pride in both. In 1880 the population of Sedalia was 9561, and 
it is now estimated at 18,500. 

t6. Jefferson OV;', the capital of tlie state since 1826, is 1 20 
miles from St. Louis, and 156 miles from Kansas City. Though 



MISSOURI. 19 

the general appearance of the city is broken and abrupt, it is 
not without attractive features. The State-House is built on a 
beautiful eminence on the south bank of the Missouri River. 
The other principal public buildings are the Governor's mansion, 
the Supreme Court Rooms, Lincoln Institute, and the State Prison. 
The public school system is excellent. In 1880 the population 
was 5271 ; at the present time it is about 7500. 

67. Moberly is a thriving inland railroad city, located in the 
eastern part of Randolph County, and having as its chief feature 
large machine-shops, in which a great number of persons find 
constant employment. Tobacco is also extensively manufac- 
tured, and a profitable retail business is carried on. The public 
schools are very popular and are well sustained. The census of 
1880 showed the population to be 6071 ; it is now at least 1 1,000. 

68. Springfield, in Greene County, is the metropolis of South- 
western Missouri. The city is pleasantly situated on the Ozark 
table-lands, the climate is mild, and the air bracing and health- 
ful. Railroad-shops and various manufacturing enterprises give 
employment to many hands, and a brisk trade is conducted with 
the surrounding country. Drury College, one of the leading 
educational institutions of the state, is located in this city. The 
public school system is well supported, and is the pride of the 
citizens. The population in 1880 was 6522 ; it is now estimated 
at 25,000.. 

69. CJiillicotJic is the county-seat of Livingston County, and is 
situated in the midst of a fine agricultural region. It encourages 
manufactures, and carries on a large shipping trade in live-stock, 
lumber, and grain. The public schools are organized under a 
special charter, and are well graded and efficient. The popula- 
tion is 8000. 

70. Mexico, the county-seat of Audrain County, is a prosper- 
ous town of 5500 inhabitants. The school system is excellent. 
Hardin College, a popular institution of learning, so named in 
honor of Governor Charles H. Hardin, is located here. 

71. Trenton, on Grand River, in Griindy County, is one of the 
most thriving business towns in North Missouri. The public 



20 ' MISSOURI. 

schools rank high, and are among the best in the state. The 
population has doubled since 1880, and is now about 8000. 

72. Cohimbia^ **the Athens of Missouri," is noted chiefly as 
an educational centre. Here are located the State University, 
Christian College, and the Baptist Female College, all oi which 
are excellent and flourishing institutions of learning. Columbia 
is a pretty, quiet town, containing many beautiful, comfortable 
homes. The population in 1880 was 3326; it is now fully 4500. 

73. Kirksville, in Adair County, is situated at the edge of a 
slightly undulating prairie, in a cultivated and productive section 
of the state which excels as an agricultural and stock-raising 
region. The first State Normal School of Missouri was estab- 
lished in this city in 1 87 1. The public schools are well sup- 
ported. The population is 3300. 

74. Warrcnsbiirg^ in Johnson County, is noted principally for 
its valuable rock quarries and as the seat of the second State 
Normal School established in Missouri ; this school is now the 
most prosperous Normal School in the state. The population 
of Warrensburg is 5373. 

75. Cape Girardeau, on the west bank of the Mississippi, pos- 
sesses superior advantages for manufacturing industries, many 
of which have already received much attention. The third Nor- 
mal School is located here, and the population of the town is 
about 5300. 

j^. St. Charles, the county-seat of St. Charles County, on 
the north bank of the Missouri River, twenty miles above St. 
Louis, is one of the oldest cities in the state, and is noted for its 
manufactures of railroad-cars, flour, woolens, starch, and earthen- 
ware,- and for its facilities for bridge-building. It is the seat of 
St. Charles College. The population is about 8000. 

77. Nevada, the county-seat of Vernon County, is an active 
railroad town of about 6000 inhabitants, and is rapidly growing. 
Its industries are varied. Church and educational advantages 
are good. 

78. Joplin, in Jasper County, is noted chiefly for its extensive 
mines of lead and zinc, which are among the most remarkable in 



MISSOURI. 21 

the world. The pubHc schools are well managed. The growth 
of the city has been very rapid, the population being now more 
than 10,000. 

79. RicJi Hill, in Bates County, is an important railroad town 
of 5000 inhabitants, and is situated in the vicinity of extensive 
coal-fields. The public schools are liberally sustained. 

80. Rolla, the county-seat of Phelps County, is an important 
shipping-point for flour, grain, and live-stock. It is the seat of 
the School of Mines, and has a population of 2000. 

81. Carrollton, the county-seat of Carroll County, is located 
in one of the best agricultural regions of the state. The grain 
and live-stock trades are important industries. The public 
schools are well graded and popular. Population, 4000. 

82. Booneinlle, i\\Q county-seat of Cooper County, situated on 
the south bank of the Missouri River, is a thriving town of 5000 
inhabitants. The chief manufactures are those of brick, iron, 
earthenware, wooden vessels, and wine. Both public and pri- 
vate schools are well supported. 

d>^. Holden, in Johnson County, is an important railroad town 
on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It has a large traffic in live- 
stock, and is an important grain-depot. The educational inter- 
ests are advancing. 

84. Independence, the county-seat of Jackson County, is beau- 
tifully located in the midst of a rich agricultural region. Its 
manufactures are varied and important, including flour, woolen 
goods, brooms, and wagons. Its educational advantages are ex- 
cellent. In addition to its public schools there are two female 
seminaries and a college for males. The population is about 
6000, and is rapidly increasing. 

85. Maryville, the county-seat of Nodaway County, is a pros- 
perous town of 4000 inhabitants. Wheat, corn, hay, and live- 
stock are shipped in large quantities. The public schools are 
well organized and excellently managed. 

d>6. Glasgow, in Howard County, ships large quantities of 
grain, flour, tobacco, live-stock, and wagons. It is an educa- 
tional centre in which are located Lewis College and Pritchett 



22 MISSOURI. 

Institute. Connected with the latter is the famous Morrison Ob- 
servatory, the director of which is Professor Carr W. Pritchett, 
one of the most distinguished astronomers of this country. 
Population, 2500. 

Sj. Ftdton^ the county-seat of Callaway County, has an active 
trade in grain, coal, tobacco, and live-stock. Higher education 
is provided for in two colleges, — Westminster and Fulton 
Synodical College. Here are also located an insane asylum and 
the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. Population, 4000. 

ZZ. Macon, the county-seat of Macon County, is a beautiful 
town of 4000 inhabitants. A good trade in grain, stock, coal, 
and tobacco is carried on. The public schools are well graded 
and popular. 

89. Carthage, the county-seat of Jasper County, is a beautiful 
city of 9000 inhabitants. It is admirably located for manufac- 
turing industries, including woolen-mills, foundries, and machine- 
shops. The chief exports are furniture, wagons, flour, grain, and 
live-stock. The public schools are excellently conducted. 

90. Clintoil is the county-seat of Henry County; its chief 
manufactures are flour, woolen goods, wagons, and carriages. 
An active trade in grain and live-stock is carried on with the 
surrounding country. The people take a lively interest in the 
cause of education. 

91. Lexington, the county-seat of Lafayette County, is a pros- 
perous town of 5000 inhabitants. Large quantities of furniture 
are manufactured here, and it is a good shipping-point for coal, 
lumber, q-rain, and live-stock. It is noted for its excellent 
schools. 

92. Marshall is the county-seat of Saline County, one of the 
best agricultural counties in the United States. It is a beautiful 
town of 5000 inhabitants, and is an important market for grain 
and live-stock. It enjoys excellent educational advantages. 

93. Among the other thriving towns of Missouri that may be 
mentioned for their enterprise, trade, and general prosperity 
are Albany, Brookfield, Brunswick, Bethany, Bowling Green, 
Cameron, Canton, Cahoka, Danville, Edina, Fayette, Gallatin, 



MISSOURI. 23 

Grant City, Huntsville, Hamilton, Kingston, Louisiana, La 
Grange, Lancaster, Liberty, Linneus, Milan, Memphis, Mays- 
ville, New London, Oregon, Palmyra, Paris, Plattsburg, Rich- 
mond, Rockport, Savannah, Shelbina, Shelbyville, Troy, Union- 
ville, Warrenton, and Weston, all lying north of the Missouri 
River. 

94. South of the Missouri River are Butler, Bolivar, Bloom- 
field, California, Carterville, De Soto, Fredericktown, Farming- 
ton, Greenfield, Granby, Hermann, Harrisonville, Hillsborough, 
Iron Mountain, Ironton, Kirkwood, Lamar, Lebanon, Neosho, 
Pleasant Hill, Pierce City, Pilot Knob, Perryville, Potosi, St. 
Genevieve, Steelville, Tuscumbia, Versailles, West Plains, Wash- 
ington, and Webb City. 

95. History. — To the Spanish nobleman Hernando de Soto 
belongs the honor of having first explored Missouri. In the 
early part of the sixteenth century, an inordinate desire for 
wealth seems to have been the ruling passion of the Spanish 
adventurers, who, renouncing the attractions of court life and 
the pleasures of home and friends, braved the dangers of a 
stormy sea to wander amid the perils of an unknown land and 
grapple in deadly combat with a savage foe. 

96. The gratification of this national cupidity was the purpose 
which brought De Soto and his followers to the New World. 
Still fresh in their minds were the glory of Pizarro' in the con- 
quest of Peru, the triumph of Cortez in the Mexican invasion, 
t J gain to De Leon in the subjugation of Porto Rico ; yet to 
the north of these lands was another compared with whose fabu- 
lous riches the wealth of the Indies, the coffers of Montezuma, 
and the opulence of the Incas were to be as naught. To this won- 
der-land of treasure, then, was De Soto destined. Landing at 
Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1539, with a superbly equipped force of 
six or eight hundred men, nearly all of whom were knights and 
peers of the Spanish realm, De Soto began his journey north- 
ward through pathless woods and lonely wilds, across noxious 
swamps and dreary wastes, on to the solitary, boundless, western 
plains. 



24 MISSOURI. 

97. Everywhere he found hostile savages eager to impede his 
progress, — now engaging him in fierce and bloody conflict, now 
burning his camp and destroying his supplies, but oftener de- 
luding him into traversing remote sections of country, under 
promise of there securing the undiscovered riches. For two 
years De Soto continued his wanderings in search of the new 
El Dorado, *'the Land of Gold," till in April, 1541, he found 
himself on the banks of a mighty river which the Indians called 
the Mississippi, — " Father of Waters." Here, desiring to cross to 
the other side, he had barges constructed sufficient to transport 
his entire retinue ; then he resumed his fruitless expedition, jour- 
neying first north, then west, until at last, disheartened by re- 
peated failure and disappointment, exhausted by continued hard- 
ships and disaster, with only a remnant of his bold and fearless 
companions left, he retraced his steps southward to reach the sea. 
Arriving again at the Mississippi near the mouth of Red River, he 
was attacked by a malignant fever, to which his already weakened 
vital powers quickly succumbed ; and he died May 21, 1542. 

98. Nothing was left for his few survivors, bereft of the 
guidance of their brave and honored leader, but to make their 
way, as best they could, back to the Spanish settlements in Mex- 
ico ; and, fearing that the Indians, did they become aware of the 
death of De Soto, would make an attack upon their weakened 
force and utterly destroy them, they resolved to sink his body in 
the Mississippi, in order to conceal his death from the savages, 
who had always ascribed to him something of supernatural 
power, believing that he could not die. In the stillness of night, 
with noiseless lips and muffled oars, they conveyed the body to 
the middle of the stream, and there in the gloomy solitude, with 
no light save that of the distant stars and a single wavering 
torch, they wrapped his body in his soldier's cloak for a wind- 
ing-sheet, and, chantincr with hushed voices the burial service of 
the dead, they sank his body in the waters of the noble river 
which his dauntless energy had discovered. 

99. For more than one hundred and thirty years after the de- 
parture of De Soto's men the rivers and valleys of the " Great 



MISSOURI. 25 

West" remained in undisputed possession of the savage red 
man ; the blue smoke wreathing aloft in the still air rose from 
the wigwams of his rudely-formed villages ; the fiendish shout 
resounding through the dark and dismal forest was his war- 
whoop as he wreaked his vengeance on a fallen foe ; the faint 
gray streak outlined against the dim horizon showed the hunts- 
man pursuing his fleeing prey, while the track of ruffled waters 
marked the wake of his canoe as it glided down the river ; and 
the memory of the " pale-face " lived only in the war-songs and 
traditions of his race. Then other claimants arrived to contest 
his heirship to this fair and fruitful land. 

100. The French, already established in Nova Scotia and Quebec, 
and with settlements along the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, 
desired to penetrate farther into the unexplored interior of the 
country, to establish missions for -the conversion of the Indians 
to the Catholic faith, and to fix beyond all controversy the claim 
of France to this region by actual colonization and possession of 
the country. To this end, two eminent men, Louis Joliet and 
Father Marquette, were chosen to explore the Upper Mississippi 
and trace its passage to the *' South Sea." With a small force 
of five men, a few frail canoes, and a meagre supply of corn and 
dried meats, these two brave men started upon their long and 
hazardous journey. 

1 01. Leaving the Great Lakes at Green Bay, they carried their 
effects across the " Grand Divide " which separates the waters 
of the St. Lawrence Basin from those of the Mississippi, launched 
their little barques upon the head-waters of the Wisconsin River, 
and rowed down to its confluence with the Mississippi. Con- 
tinuing their explorations southward, charmed by the pleasing 
prospect everywhere presented, and happily without accident or' 
incident of importance occurring, they reached the mouth of the 
Arkansas, whence they resolved to retrace their steps northward 
toward Canada. 

102. This was in the summer of 1673 : hence Marquette and 
his men were the first Europeans to set foot upon the eastern 
border of Missouri. Soon after this, the noble Marquette, whose 



26 MISSOURI. 

magnanimity of mind and heart commanded alike the homage 
of the savage and the respect and love of his countrymen, under- 
took another expedition to the Illinois Indians, but, failing in 
health before its accomplishment, he died, and was laid to rest 
upon the bank of a little stream which bears his name. Lonely 
and lowly that single grave, yet there were not wanting among 
the dusky dwellers of the forest gentle hands to guard and to 
tend the resting-place of him whose very name became to them 
the spell by which to exorcise the evil spirits of the storm, the 
tempest, or the whirlwind. 

103. Still the great work of exploration and colonization 
was vigorously carried on. The discovery that the Missis- 
sippi did not flow into the Pacific occasioned much excite- 
ment among the French of both Europe and Arnerica; and 
that nation, desiring to establish a chain of settlements from the 
Great Lakes to the mouth of the Mississippi before either the 
English or the Spanish could obtain possession of the country, 
fitted out an expedition for that purpose, which they placed un- 
der the command of Cavalier La Salle, in 1682. Descending the 
Mississippi to its mouth, he named the " Great River " St. Louis, 
and the country through which it flowed Louisiana, in honor of 
Louis XIV., reigning king of France ; he also solemnly pro- 
claimed the right and title of the French throne to all that vast 
extent of territory drained by the Mississippi and its numberless 
tributaries. 

104. Two years later. La Salle attempted to colonize Louisi- 
ana, but without success ; however, during King William's War, 
from 1689 to 1697, many adventurous Canadians established 
themselves along the shores of the Mississippi, drawn thither by 
the prospect of the rich mineral resources of the country. These 
settlements were mainly on the east side of the river, and it was 
not till a rumor was started of the discovery of gold and silver 
in Missouri and Arkansas that the French turned their attention 
to the west. In 1705, a party of explorers ascending the Mis- 
souri River to the mouth of the Kansas River — the present site 
of Kansas City — established a little trading-post there, and en- 



MISSOURI. 27 

gaged in friendly intercourse with the Indians of that section. 
Notwithstanding these efforts to people the new territory, it is 
estimated that as late as 17 12 there were not within the entire 
Mississippi Valley more than four hundred Europeans; and 
manifold and varied were the hardships which befell the settlers 
in this wild uncivilized region. 

105. It will be remembered that the Spanish also claimed the 
territory of Louisiana by virtue of De Soto's discovery, and 
that they had for many years been permanently established at 
Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in various other localities in the 
southwestern part of what is now the United States. Becoming 
alarmed at the rapid increase of the French in this territory, the 
Spaniards determined to drive them out. Accordingly, in 1720 
a Spanish force started from Santa Fe with the avowed intention 
of expelling the French settlers and exterminating their Indian 
allies the Missouris, 

106. Arriving in the country of the Missouri Indians, and mis- 
taking them for the Osage Indians, who spoke the same language, 
the Spanish disclosed to the Missouris their designs against 
themselves and the French. The wily foes, concealing their 
identity, showed every attention to the Spaniards, whom they in- 
duced to rest with them for a few days. Meanwhile the Indian 
warriors were assembled, a council was held, and at an early 
dawn the Indians fell upon the Spaniards and massacred all 
except an aged priest, whom they regarded as a man of peace. 
This priest, finally escaping, made his way back to the Spanish 
authorities, and bore to them, the news of the disastrous termina- 
tion of the expedition, which, though it wrought no direful con- 
sequences to the French, yet aroused them to the necessity of 
establishing a military post in Missouri. 

107. M. Burgamont was therefore sent from Mobile to Mis- 
souri, where he built a fort above the mouth of the Osage River, 
garrisoned it, and gave to it the name of Fort Orleans. Finding 
that hostilities existed among the several tribes of Indians in 
Missouri, in consequence of which they were constantly en- 
gaged in warfare among themselves, M. Burgamont desired to 



28 MISSOURI. 

effect a general peace, to further the interests of trade between 
the settlers and the natives. This he accomplished in 1724. 
Shortly afterward, Fort Orleans was attacked and totally de- 
stroyed, and the garrison massacred ; though who were the per- 
petrators of this foul outrage has ever remained a mystery. 

108. Although as early as 1 720 the lead-mines of St. Francis, 
near the present site of Fredericktown, had been discovered, and, 
soon after that, the Renault mines north of Potosi, yet the first 
permanent settlements were not made until the founding of Ste. 
Genevieve and New Bourbon in 1763. About the same date a 
village was built upon the Missouri where St. Charles now stands, 
and named by the French Village du Cote (" town on the 
hill"). In February, 1764, St. Louis was founded by Auguste 
Chouteau, under the direction of Pierre Laclede Liguest, and for 
many years it was considered the capital of Upper Louisiana. 
Potosi, in Washington County, was settled by Francis Breton in 
1765, and two years later the present site of Carondelet was first 
occupied. 

109. Shortly after this occurred an event significant in the 
annals of the French settlers of Louisiana and causing them 
much apprehension and regret : this was the removal of French 
authority from the territory and its supersession by the Spanish 
rule. In reality it was effected in 1762, when, on November 3 
of that year, the French government by secret treaty ceded to 
Spain all that part of Louisiana ** which lay on the western side 
of the Mississippi River, including the island and city of New 
Orleans on the eastern," but it did not become known in Louisi- 
ana till 1768, when a Spanish officer named Rios arrived to 
assume control, and in 1771 appointed as Lieutenant-Governor 
of Upper Louisiana Don Pedro Piernas. 

1 10. Fortunately, he and his successors were excellent officers, 
and their just and liberal policy added greatly to the prosperity 
of the country. Immigration increased rapidly, and settlements 
were made at various places along the Mississippi and Missouri 
Rivers, the most important being at New Madrid in 1 78 1, in 
St. Francis County in 1796, in Mississippi County in 1800, and 



MISSOURI. 29 

in Callaway County in 1801. In October, 1800, by the treaty 
of St. Ildefonso, Spain ceded back to Napoleon all the territory 
acquired from France in 1762, and French commissioners arrived 
to take possession in July of 1802. 

I IT. The new regime under French administration was of short 
duration, for on the 30th of April, 1803, the United States pur- 
chased from France, for ;^ 1 5 ,000,000, all the territory of Louisi- 
ana. During the thirty-eight years of Spanish occupancy of the 
country, no accession of Spanish citizens took place, and the 
population remained essentially French in manners and customs, 
— a character still readily discernible in the people of the eastern 
and southeastern sections of the state. Thus it will be seen, from 
this brief history, that the title to Missouri was first vested- in 
the natives, then by right of discovery was claimed by France till 
1762, when it was transferred to Spain, whose authority lasted 
till 1800, when the country again came under the control of 
France and remained so until obtained by our government in 
1803. 

112. Missouri as a Territory. — It was not until the loth 
of March, 1804, that Captain Amos Stoddard took formal pos- 
session of Upper Louisiana in the name of the United States ; 
and on the 26th of the same month, Louisiana was divided by 
act of Congress into two territories, the southern, called the Ter- 
ritory of New Orleans, and the northern, the District of Louisi- 
ana. By the same act of Congress the governor and judges of 
Indiana were given jurisdiction over the whole territory. 

113. General W. H. Harrison, being Governor of Indiana, had, 
at the time of the conveyance of Louisiana to the United States, 
published an address to the inhabitants, setting forth the nature 
of the transfer, and explaining that a territorial government 
would be accorded them by Congress. - The aggregate popula- 
tion up to this date was 10,120, of whom 3760 were French, in- 
cluding a few Spanish families, 5090 Americans, and 1270 col- 
ored, — showing an increase of more than 4000 over the popula- 
tion of 1799. 1 

114. By a subsequent act of Congress, March 3, 1805, the 



30 MISSOURI. 

District of Louisiana was regularly organized into a territory, 
with the legislative power invested in a Governor, a Secretary, 
and two judges. General James Wilkinson was chosen first ter- 
ritorial Governor, and Frederick Bates, Secretary. In 1807, 
Captain Merriwether Lewis, famous as one of the leaders in the 
celebrated Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Columbia 
River, succeeded to the gubernatorial office; he died before the 
expiration of his term, and Benjamin Howard was appointed his 
successor. Governor Howard, however, shortly afterward re- 
signed to accept a commission in the army, serving in the war 
of 18 12; and William Clark, the companion of Captain Lewis, 
was next appointed to the office of Governor, and continued to 
administer the affairs of the territory till Missouri was admitted 
as a state into the Union. 

115. Though exposed to all the hardships incident to the set- 
tling of a new country inhabited by hostile tribes, yet thousands 
of people flocked into Missouri during the territorial administra- 
tion, to secure homes amid her pleasant, fruitful, healthful lands. 
In 1 8 10 the population had increased to 25,000, although it was 
confined almost exclusively to the sections around St. Louis, St. 
Charles, New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, and Washington. There 
were a few settlements up the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers ; 
and, to protect the frontier from Indian depredations, citizens 
were organized into military companies, called " Rangers." 

116. With the close of the war with England in 1815, a new 
tide of immigration set in, and the territory increased rapidly in 
population and material prosperity. The first newspaper, the 
Misso7iri Gazette^ now the St. Louis Republic, was printed in 
1808 ; the Bank of Missouri was chartered in 1 8 17, and the same 
year a charter was granted for establishing an academy at Potosi, 
and a board of trustees was incorporated for superintending the 
schools in the town of St. Louis. About this time, also, steam- 
boats began to ply the waters of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Mis- 
souri Rivers, and a new and vigorous impetus was thus given to 
all kinds of business. 

117. In 1818, application was made to Congress by the terri- 



MISSOURI. 31 

torial legislature for admission as a state into the Federal Union. 
A bill was prepared in the usual form, authorizing the citizens 
of the several counties to elect delegates to a territorial conven- 
tion for the purpose of forming a state constitution. When the 
subject came up for consideration in the House of Representa- 
tives, an anti-slavery restriction was introduced, and passed that 
body by a majority of twelve. This unexpected turn produced 
heated discussions and bitter controversies, not only in Congress, 
but also throughout the entire country, which continued for more 
than two years, and finally resulted in the passage of the Mis- 
souri Compromise, March 3, 1820. 

118. This bill stipulated for the admission of Missouri as a 
slave state, but prohibited the extension of slavery in the future 
into any territory north of the parallel of 36° 30' and west of 
Missouri. On the loth of August, 1821, Missouri was formally 
admitted into the Union, and an election for state officers resulted 
in the appointment of Alexander McNair for Governor ; W. H. 
Ashley, Lieutenant-Governor ; and John Scott, Representative 
to Congress. By an act of the Legislature, in 1820, the capital 
of the state, which had hithefto been at St. Louis^ was located at St. 
Charles, where it remained till 1826, when it was removed to 
Jefferson City. 

119. Missouri AS A State. — During the session of the 
Legislature of 1822-23, ^^ ^^t was passed constituting the in- 
habitants of St. Louis a corporate body and investing the power 
in a mayor and nine aldermen. By the census of 1820, the popu- 
lation of the territory was 66,586; and at the time of the incor- 
poration of St. Louis the population of that town alone was 
5500. In 1824, Frederick Bates, who had been secretary to the 
first territorial governor of Missouri, was elected to succeed 
Alexander McNair as second governor of the state, but he died 
soon after his election, and John Miller was elected to fill the 
unexpired term. 

120. The most noted social event that occurred in Missouri at 
this time was the arrival, in 1825, of the Marquis de La Fayette, 
accompanied by his son George Washington La Fa}'ette. Gen- 



32 MISSOURI. 

eral La Fayette, now an old man of sixty-eight, was joyfully 
received and honored as the nation's guest, and everywhere 
ereeted with demonstrations of the wildest enthusiasm ; his 
journey through the several states was one grand ovation, — a 
heartfelt tribute of the American people to one who, half a cen- 
tury before, had expended his fortune and shed his blood in 
defence of their country in its struggle for existence. 

121. For several years the Indians had ceased to trouble the 
frontier settlers by their depredations; but in July, 1829, a diffi- 
culty, originating over the ownership of some cattle, occurred in 
Adair County between the settlers and a part of the Iowa and 
Sac Indians, and a skirmish took place, in which a few of the 
settlers were killed. At the time of Miller's re-election as Gov- 
ernor, in 1828, the population of Missouri was 112,409, and 
in 1830 it had increased to 140,455 ; and other statistics indicate 
as great progress in the various pursuits in which the people 
were engaged. Unfortunately, in 1832 the Black Hawk War, 
then being waged in Illinois against the Sacs and Foxes, greatly 
alarmed the frontier settlers, causing many to desert their homes 
and flee to the older settlements fir protection. 

122. To prevent aggressions on the part of the Indians, 
Major-General Gentry was placed in command of a thousand 
mounted infantry and dispatched to the protection of the 
northern border of the state. Within a few months, how- 
ever, this excitement had died away, only to be followed by a 
great calamity ; this was the appearance in St. Louis of that ter- 
rible scourge known as Asiatic cholera. Numbers of the 
panic-stricken inhabitants fled from the city to escape the dread 
disease, and many who remained succumbed to its malignance. 

123. The election of Daniel Dunklin to the head of the state 
government took place in 1832; and the census of the same 
year showed the population of the state to be 176,236. The 
next year the Mormons, who had settled in Jackson County, 
and whose presence there had become extremely distasteful to 
the citizens, were ordered to leave the county. After consider- 
able hesitancy and opposition, causing much annoyance to the 



MISSOURI. 33 

settlers, the Mormons finally obeyed the command, and the sect 
moved to Illinois. 

124. Lilburn W. Boggs was elected Governor in 1836; the 
most important public events during his administration were the 
erection of a new State- House, and the concession by the Legis- 
lature of a charter granting the right to build a railroad from 
St. Louis to Iron Mountain,' a distance of seventy miles, — the 
first line of railroad built within the state of Missouri. 

125. It was also during Governor Boggs's term of office that 
the "Platte Purchase" was consummated. By this act Missouri 
acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians a right to all that north- 
western part of the state, then a part of the Indian Territory, and 
now embraced in the counties of Atchison, Andrew, Buchanan, 
Holt, Nodaway, and Platte, — an important acquisition, since the 
section contains some of the very richest land in the state. 

126. In 1837, Missouri being called upon to furnish her quota 
of soldiers for the suppression of the Seminole War, then raging 
in Florida, a regiment was raised by Colonel Gentry, and has- 
tened to the seat of war. On the voyage from New Orleans to 
Tampa Bay the fleet was overtaken by a furious storm, and sev- 
eral of the ships were lost. Those that escaped reached their 
destination on the 15th of November; and on the ist of De- 
cember, at Okeechobee Lake, a battle was fought with the In- 
dians, in which Colonel Gentry was mortally wounded while 
valiantly leading his men to the charge; and of the one hundred 
and twelve wounded and killed in this battle the greater number 
were soldiers of the Missouri regiment. 

127. The year 1839 witnessed a large influx of population to 
Missouri, it being estimated that 40,000 persons moved into the 
state that year, the majority of whom settled upon the fertile 
lands on either side of the Missouri. Thomas Reynolds was 
elected Governor in 1840, and was succeeded in 1844 ^7 John 
C. Edwards. The boundary-line between Iowa and Missouri 
having been in dispute for some time, the matter was referred to 
the Supreme Court; it was taken under advisement by that 
body, and subsequently fixed permanently as it now is. 

3 



34 MISSOURI. 

128. In 1846, war arose between the United States and 
Mexico, caused by the annexation of Texas, and the subse- 
quent dispute over the boundary between that state and the 
Mexican possessions, the latter claiming to the Rio Nueces, 
the former to the Rio Grande. Missouri was called upon for 
volunteers to join the Army of the West for the invasion of 
Mexico. Men were mustered into service, and started for Santa 
Fe, under the command of General Stephen W. Kearney, the 
first Missouri regiment being commanded by Colonel Alex- 
ander W. Doniphan, and a second, raised in the summer, by 
Sterling Price. Battles occurred with the Mexican forces in 
New Mexico, California, and Chihuahua, in all of which the 
Americans were victorious. When the war closed, the army 
was disbanded, and the survivors returned to their homes, cov- 
ered with glory, "end conscious that their deeds had reflected 
truest valor and heroism. 

129. Austin A. King was elected Governor in 1848. He was 
a man of marked ability and of unselfish interest in the public 
good, as is shown by his inaugural message, in which he advo- 
cated the more efficient organization of the public schools, a 
geological survey of the state, the drainage of the swamps in 
the southeastern part of the state at the expense of the gen- 
eral government, and the construction of a railroad from the 
Mississippi to the Pacific. Sterling Price was elected to the 
gubernatorial office in 1852, and he zealously devoted himself 
to the completion of the public improvements commenced by his 
predecessor. 

130. Missouri's next Governor was Trusten Polk, who was 
elected in 1858, but who, upon being chosen United States Sen- 
ator, resigned the office, his unexpired term being filled by 
Robert W. Stewart. Hancock Jackson became the next gov- 
ernor; and in i860, Claiborne F. Jackson succeeded to the office. 
This brings the history of Missouri down to the beginning of the 
Civil War, from which time up to the present date the following 
tabulated list shows consecutively the Governors of Missouri, 
with the dates of their inauguration : 



MISSOURI. 35 

Hamilton R. Gamble Provisional Governor, 1864 

Thomas C. Fletcher Governor, 1864- 1868 

Joseph W. McClurg '' 1868-1870 

B. Gratz Brown " 1870-1872 

Silas Woodson " 1872-1874 

Charles A. Hardin " 1874-1876 

John S. Phelps " 1876-1880 

Thomas T. Crittenden " 1880- 1884 

John S. Marmaduke " 1884-1888 

Albert P. Morehouse " 1888-1889 

David R. Francis " 1S89- 



36 MISSOURI. 



NOTES TO REFERENCES IN TEXT. 



1 The greatest annual rainfall recorded at St. Louis was 68 inches, and the least 
25 inches; the mean average is 41 inches, slightly decreasing westward, and increas- 
ing correspondingly in the southeast ; 38 inches may be given as a close approxima- 
tion of the average rainfall annually throughout the state. 

Missouri unquestionably merits the distinction of being a " fair-weather state ;" for 
of the 365 days of the year, on an average 143 are clear or nearly so, 173 partially 
clear or variable, and on 49 only does the sun remain completely obscured during the 
entire day. The atmospheric pressure as indicated by the barometer is much more 
uniform than in many other localities, — notably on the Atlantic coast in the same lat- 
itude. This pressure is highest in January, from which time it gradually falls till May, 
then rises again till January ; the greatest variation being from November to March, 
and the least from June to August. Throughout the greater part of the state southerly 
winds prevail (including south, southeast, and southwest winds) ; yet in some sections, 
as near Brunswick, the prevailing winds are from the north. 

Professor F. H. Snow, of the Kansas University, has estimated the percentage of 
winds from each point of the compass to be as follows : 

From the north, — 7.8 per cent. From the northeast, — 10.3 per cent. 

From the south, — 14.3 per cent. From the southeast, — 11.7 per cent. 

From the east, — 6.4 per cent. From the northwest, — 22 per cent. 

From the west, — 4.4 per cent. From the southwest, — 20.9 per cent. 

Callfi,— 2,2 per cent. 

2 Classification of Soils. — For agricultural and horticultural purposes, a more minute 
classification of the soils is necessary in order to indicate the different and special 
productive qualities of each. The " hackberry " and " crowfoot " lands are the finest 
upland soils of the state, the former representing timber-land, the latter its correspond- 
ing prairie-soil. These soils characterize the western half of the Missouri River Val- 
ley, extending as far south as Cass County, and eastward into Saline and Howard 
Counties, and are unsurpassed in productiveness in this or any other state in the 
Union. It is estimated that these lands alone are capable of sustaining upon their 
seven millions of acres a population almost equal to that of the entire state. 

Next in the order of importance may be ranked the " elm " and " resin-weed " 
lands, also timber and prairie, remarkably fertile, comprising Marion, Monroe, Boone, 
Cooper, and Greene Counties. 

The " hackberry " lands and " mulatto " soils prevail in the central and eastern 
counties north of the Missouri, and are good soils for the production of the staple 
crops, fruit, blue-grass, timothy, and clover. 



MISSOURI. 37 

The "white-oak" lands denote a thinner soil; yet with their richer sub-soil they 
produce, under proper cultivation, the very best qualities of wheat, fruit, grapes, and 
tobacco. They predominate on many of the ridges north of the Missouri River, and 
east and west of the Chariton, reaching south to the Osage. 

South of the Osage we find the "post-oak" lands, whose soil in the matter of pro- 
ductiveness excels not so much in the quantity as in the quality of the tobacco and the 
various fruits grown upon it. 

The inferior soils of the state are represented by the " black-jack " lands and " pine " 
lands, and abound in the rocky ridges, barren hill-sides, and sterile plateaus of South 
Missouri ; yet even these lands may be largely utilized for grazing and pasturage, and, 
with due care, vineyards thrive upon them. 

By far the greater part of the state south of the Missouri is occupied by the " mag- 
nesian limestone " lands, whose millions of acres extend over fertile valleys, deep and 
romantic ravines, beautiful hill-sides, and many ridges susceptible of tillage; and in 
these localities the cultivation of the grape and the peach is brought to the highest 
degree of perfection. Such, in full, are the upland soils of Missouri, 

The "bottom-lands" are distinguished as " prairie " and "timber." The prairie 
bottoms, if high enough not to be overflowed, are slightly subject to the variations of 
drought and wetness ; yet their deep, rich soil is sufficiently productive to yield abundant 
harvest to the thrifty farmer, and in many localities they constitute the great meadow- 
lands of Missouri, assuming magnificent proportions in Carroll, Clark, Marion, St. 
Charles, and other counties, and existing to less extent in many of the smaller river- 
valleys. 

Of the "timber bottom" lands, farmers usually make the following classification: 
First, "high bottoms," or those which are not subject to overflow, and whose rich, 
sandy, porous soil gives evidence of its wonderful fertility in the gigantic forests which 
climbing plants and interlacing vines in wild profusion make almost impenetrable to 
the foot of man. Second, the •' low bottoms," similar in soil to the foregoing, but, 
owing to their liability to overflow, little suited to cultivation, except in such places as 
can be protected from inundation. Large areas of these lands along the larger water- 
courses will doubtless in time be reclaimed by skillful engineering and thus transformed 
into profitable farming-lands. Third, "swamp and cypress" lands, covered with water 
during the greater part of the year, and useless for agricultural purposes, yet bearing a 
heavy growth of timber, and furnishing an inexhaustible supply of wood for domestic 
use and lumber valuable for all manufacturing purposes. 

For agricultural and horticultural purposes the soils of Missouri may be grouped as 
follows : 

Hackberry and crowfoot (also called buttercup) soils . . . 7,000,000 acres. 

Elm lands and resin-weed lands 3,000,000 " 

Hickory lands or mulatto soils 6,500,000 " 

White-oak lands 2,000,000 " 

Post-oak lands 3,500,000 " 

Black-jack lands 3,000,000 " 

Pine lands 2,000,000 " 

Magnesian-limestone lands 10,000,000 " 



38 MISSOURI. 

Bottom lands (prairie) 1,000,000 acres. 

Bottom lands (timbered) 3,000,000 " 

Low bottoms (subject to overflow) 2,000,000 " 

Swamp and cypress lands 1,000,000 " 

3 Professor G. C. Brodhead gives a classified list of fifty-two different species of trees, 

shrubs, and vines which he found in Adair County ; on Grand River, in Daviess County, 

he enumerated thirty-five, and in Madison County, seventy-five different kinds of trees. 

* Some of these trees attain gigantic proportions, as the following measurements 

indicate : 

Sycamore 130 feet high, and 43 feet in circumference. 

Cypress 130 " "29 

Cottonwood 125 « "30 

Walnut no " "22 

White oak 100 « "29 

Spanish oak 90 " "36 " " 

Lind 100 " "23 

Catalpa 90 " "10 " 

Grape-vines . .160 feet long, and 33 inches in circumference. 

5 Coal is of vegetable origin, and the epoch of its formation is one of the greatest 
interest to the student of geology. It is estimated upon the best authority that to pro- 
duce a bed of coal i foot in thickness would require 10 feet of vegetable matter, or 
twice as much as the most exuberant vegetation of the present day could yield in a 
dozen centuries ; yet we have beds of coal from 65 to 90 feet in thickness, and the 
human mind cannot form an adequate idea of the magnitude of those carboniferous 
jungles of gigantic mosses and colossal ferns, which, submerged by the waters of the 
primeval ocean, have lain concealed through the lapse of centuries that they might 
prove at last repositories of exhaustless wealth for the use of man. 

6 The " Iron Region " may be divided into three grouj^s : first, included between 
township lines 25 and 35 north, and range lines i and 10 east of the fifth principal 
meridian; second, between township lines 36 and 42 north, and range lines 15 and 
27 west of the fifth principal meridian. 

The specular ores are concentrated chiefly at two points,— namely, the Iron 
Mountain district, comprising limited areas in St. Frangois and Iron Counties, where 
enormous deposits are found, principally at Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, the former 
being a mass of pure iron 200 feet high and covering 200 acres of ground ; the second 
deposit is confined chiefly to Crawford, Phelps, and Dent Counties, though extending 
considerably into Washington, Franklin, Maries, and Shannon Counties. The limon- 
ite ores are found from the Mississippi to the Upper Osage, but may be grouped into 
three districts: first, the easternmost, in Bollinger, Wayne, and Madison Counties; 
second, in the southern part of Franklin County ; and tliird, in Benton, Morgan, Cam- 
den, Miller, St. Clair, and Henry Counties. 

7 The southeast district is embraced chiefly m the counties of Franklin, Jefi"erson, 
Washington, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, and Madison ; the total area covered j^rob- 
ably exceeding 2500 square miles. The middle division comprises principally the 



MISSOURI. 39 

counties of Morgan, Cole, Miller, Moniteau, Camden, Hickory, and Benton ; with the 
best-paying mines in this district located in the first four counties mentioned. The 
southwest division is confined mainly to Jasper, Lawrence, Newton, Dade, Christian, 
Stone, Barry, and McDonald Counties. 

8 Lead has been mined in Missouri for more than one hundred and seventy years, 
having been first discovered in 17 17 by Cruzat in what is now Washington County four 
years prior to the first permanent settlement in that county. At this time galena was 
found in such large quantities on the surface of the ground that but little labor was neces- 
sary to secure any desired supply; and it was not until 1798, when Moses Austin & 
Sons sunk the first lead shaft in this same county, that efforts were begun to obtain this 
valuable metal after the more prescribed and laborious methods of mining. Later on, 
other important discoveries of lead were made, notably that by Thomas Sheperd and 
Simpson Oldham in Newton County in 1847; ^^^ eight years later, in the same 
county, were found the celebrated lead- and zinc-mines at Granby, at which place, 
also, the largest furnace for the reduction of this ore ever erected in this country was 
completed in 1858. The lead-mines in Jasper County were j^artially developed in 
1 87 1, and those at Joplin are the most remarkable in the world on account of their 
seemingly inexhaustible richness. At the present day, however, the most productive 
lead-mines in the state are in St. Fran(;ois County, where, at the lowest estimate, the 
output is fully 480,000 pounds each week. 

^ Some idea of the extent of farming in Missouri may be gained from the census 
of 1880, when the area in farms was 27,879,276 acres, valued at ^375,633,307; and 
the improved area in farms, 16,745,031 acres. For the same year Missouri raised 
202,414,413 bushels of corn, being surpassed only by Iowa and Illinois ; 24,966,627 bush- 
els of wheat; 20,670,958 bushels of oats ; 1,077,458 tons of hay; 4,180,604 bushels of 
potatoes; 12,015,657 pounds of tobacco ; and $1,812,873 worth of orchard-products. 

^° The United States census of 1880 gives the following official figures for the live- 
stock in Missouri: 2,080,932 head of cattle, of which 661,405 were milch-cows; 
667,776 horses; 192,027 mules; 4,553,123 swine; and 1,4-11,298 sheep. Com- 
pared with the other leading stock-raising states, Missouri may be ranked first in the 
number of mules ; third in swine ; fifth in horses and catttle ; sixth in the production 
of wool ; eighth in sheep ; and ninth in the production of butter. 

^^ Some idea of the extent of the manufactured products may be derived from the 
statistics of 1880, which place their value at $165,386,205, or $69,473,546 more than 
the value of the agricultural products of that year. In the pursuit of these industries 
the total steam-power employed was equal to 80,749 horse-power, and water-power 
equivalent to 8162 horse-power. 

Principal Matrnfactiired Articles, and the Value of Each. 

1. Flouring and grist-mill products $32,438,831 

2. Slaughtering and meat-packing 14,628,630 

3. Foundry and machine-shop products 6,798,832 

4. Tobacco, "chewing, smoking, and snuff" 5,286,338 

5. Lumber, sawed and planed 5,265,617 

6. Liquors, malt, 5,048,077 



40 MISSOURI. 

7. Sugar and molasses, refined $4,475,740 

8. Printing and publishing 4,452,962 

9. Gold and silver, reduced and refined 4,158,606 

10. Saddlery and harness 3)976,175 

11. Men's clothing 3,822,477 

12. Bread and bakery products . 3,250,192 

13. Paints 2,825,860 

14. Carnages and wagons ...,.,.... 2,483,738 

15. Furniture 2,380,563 

^2 The principal railroad systems are : Missouri Pacific ; Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy ; St. Louis and San Francisco ; Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis ; Chi- 
cago and Alton; Atchison j Topeka and Santa Fe; Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific; 
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul ; Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs ; St. 
Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern ; Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific ; Union Pacific ; 
St. Louis and Iron Mountain. 

^^ Cities are classed as follows : A city of the fourth class contains from 500 to 
5000 inhabitants ; a city of the third class, from 5000 to 20,000 ; a city of the second 
class, from 20,000 to 100,000; and a city of the first class, 100,000 or more. 

^* There are 9301 school districts in Missouri ; 205 graded schools ; 11,744 school- 
houses ; 13,677 public-.school teachers; 852,430 persons of school age ; and 610,550 
pupils enrolled in the public schools. At the state institutions of learning for the last 
year, the enrollments were — at Kirksville Normal, 490 students ; at Warrensburg, 649 ; 
at Cape Girardeau, 277; at Lincoln Institute, 194; and at the State University, 585. 
Missouri possesses a larger available school fund than any other state ; it amounts to 
$10,731,244.61, while the total value of public-school property is $9,803,786, and the 
annual expenditure for schools is $4,647,205.40. 

There are 12,000 students receiving secondary instruction in the high schools and 
colleges of the state, while 4000 more are preparing for a more advanced course. 

IS Religious Denominations. 

Roman Catholic. — Many of the early explorers of the Mississippi Valley were 
patient. God-fearing, French Catholic priests, who by their just treatment and benevo- 
lence won the confidence and respect of the red man. At every trading-post estab- 
lished, and every settlement formed, there were these holy men faithful to their duty of 
ministering to the spiritual needs of the settlers and laboring to convert the natives 
by interpreting to them the divine law. Hence Catholicism is coeval with the earliest 
history of the French occupation of the Mississippi Valley. When the territory passed 
under Spanish control in 1762, the Roman Catholic continued to be the established 
religion, the priests receiving their appointment and compensation from the Spanish 
government. The official records of the Church date back nearly one hundred and 
fifty years ; and under all political changes Catholicism has prospered, until the entire 
Church connection is to-day nearly a quarter of a million. 

Protestant — Baptist. — In the early days of the Spanish occupancy of Upper 
Louisiana, many Protestant families settled in the province. Among them were Bap- 
tists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and members of other denominations. The Span- 



MISSOURI. 41 

ish commandants were tolerant in their religious views, and Protestant clergj-men 
came over from the Territory of Illinois and preached to the settlers in their homes 
undisturbed. It was not until 1806, however, that a Protestant church organization was 
effected in the territory, near Jackson, Cape Girardeau County, under the ministration 
of Rev. David Green, who was a native of Virginia and a preacher of great power, 
influence, and zeal. He united the scattered settlers into one common cause, and 
through his agency a little log church was built for the congregation. This unpre- 
tending edifice was the first Protestant structure erected west of the Mississippi, and 
received the name of the Bethel Baptist Church. About the same time Rev. L. R. 
Musick, of the same faith, organized a church at St. Louis ; and in 18 1 6 the first Bap- 
tist Association was formed, the denomination consisting of seven churches. This 
Church organization still continues to be a leading one in the state, and has a mem- 
bership of 125,000, 

Methodist. — According to reliable authority, Methodism was introduced into Mis- 
souri by ministers from the Southern States ; although at a much earlier date, and while 
the Spaniards still held possession of the territory, a Mr. Clark was in the habit of 
crossing at night in a skiff from the American Bottom to St. Louis, and conducting 
joint services for the Methodists and Baptists whom he had gathered into a congi'ega- 
tion. On September 15, 1806, the first Methodist Conference was convened at Ebene- 
zer Meeting House, in Greene County, Tennessee ; and at this Conference a young 
man named John Travis was appointed to the Missouri circuit, the district of his labors 
extending from what is now Pike County down to the southeastern corner of the state. 
He organized a number of small classes, and at the next conference was able to report 
a membership of 106 persons, and two circuits, the Missouri and the Meramec. From 
this small beginning Methodism has continued to prosper and increase rapidly in the 
state, till in point of numbers it now ranks next to the Baptist denomination, represent- 
ing a total membership of more than 110,000 persons. 

Christian Church. — This denomination began its labors in Missouri shortly after 
the admission of the state into the Union. The first preachers who came to Missouri 
were Thomas McBride and Samuel Rogers; and during the ten years from 1825 
to 1835 many able and eloquent preachers from Kentucky traveled through the 
country, doing effective work as evangelists, and as a result of their earnest faithful 
efforts many persons embraced the religion. The year 1836 witnessed the establish- 
ment of the first Christian church in St. Louis, under the direction of Elder R. B. 
Fife; but several years earlier, in 1829, churches had been organized in many other 
counties, and congregations grew rapidly in all sections of the state. At present the 
Church claims a membership of 80,000. 

Presbyterian. — This denomination in Missouri dates from 1 814, at which time two 
eminent divines, S. J. Mill and Rev. David Smith, first preached in St. Louis. Two 
years later a church was organized at Concord, Bellevue Settlement, eight)' miles from 
St. Louis, and another at Bonhomme. This denomination erected the first Protestant 
house of worship built within the limits of the city of St. Louis; it was begun in 
1819, but not completed till 1826. In 1820 missions were established among the Osage 
Indians living in Bates and Vernon Counties; and effectual and self-sacrificing were 
the labors of these pioneer evangelists to bring the savages within the benign influence 



42 MISSOURI. 

of Christianity. In the same year the Cumberland Presbyterians organized their first 
presbytery in Pike County, Missouri, only four ministers being present, two of whom 
lived in Missouri, one in Illinois, and one in Arkansas. From this diminutive begin- 
ning has arisen one of the most influential Churches in the state, numbering a congre- 
gation of 23,000, which together with the 15,000 Northern Presbyterians in the state, 
and the 9000 Southern Presbyterians, makes the total number of adherents to this 
faith fully 47,000. 

Protestant Episcopal. — On the 24th of October, 1 819, this Church held its first ser- 
vice vnthin the state; and the following month a parish was organized in St. Louis, 
with the Rev. John Ward, of Lexington, Kentucky, as first minister. With the 
increasing population, churches have been established in nearly all the larger towns 
and cities, the total number of communicants being about 7000. 

Congregational. — Prior to 1 86 1 but two churches of Congregationalists had been 
organized in Missouri, — one of these at St. Louis in 1852, and the other at Hannibal in 
1859. Since the close of the war in 1865 many churches have been formed, and rep- 
resentatives of this religion are now to be found in nearly every section of the state, 

Hebrew. — In every town of any size Jewish families are found to reside, and in 
several of the cities and towns congregations have been established. The first one 
was organized in St. Louis in 1838; and there are now probably 15,000 members con- 
nected with this Church. 

Other Denominations. — Among the other church organizations that are well repre- 
sented may be mentioned the Evangelical Lutheran, organized in St. Louis in 1839, 
and showing a membership of 20,000; the German Evangelical, with 10,000 mem- 
bers ; the United Brethren ; the Adventists ; the Universalists ; and the Friends. 



